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When I left SW Florida for the second time, I brought very few plants with me, around 12 to 15, if I recall correctly. most of them were mature plants I couldn't give up and some were pots full of cuttings from others that I gave away or sold. I also brought a bag of seeds I had saved or gathered here and there. Everything I brought was precious to me.

Along the way, some died or tried to die. I lost my beautiful pink Thanksgiving cactus, but I luckily had cuttings started, although it will take years to get it back to that size. My Clivia was almost eaten alive by snails, and is still recovering from it's near death. My beautiful pink orchid cactus died, and there was nothing I could do to save it. My yellow Thai Crown of Thorns almost died, and I still haven't planted out or potted up the remaining pieces. My staghorn fern was doing well until it got here and got sunburned and almost died -- for the fourth time. I'm keeping it indoors for the summer. My purple epidendrum orchid all but died, and is now struggling to come back from some tiny keikis that survived. Another orchid died altogether, but honestly, I didn't expect that one to live, because it was never really healthy.

I thought I would never have a beautiful garden again. I moved from here to there, never really finding my footing, picking up a few plants along the way. Now that I'm finally settled into a place that seems to love me and my plants, I decided to take an inventory and see how many plants I have and how I came about them. I was SHOCKED at the number and diversity of the plants I have which were gotten primarily for free.

So I made a list of the freebies. I have bought only a few plants since I've been back in FL; some half-price vincas from WalMart and a few 75% and 90% off plants from Lowe's. All totaled, those were about $5. This is how I got the rest:

List of free plants in my garden

From McCrorie Community Garden

Lemon grass - grew from one sprig I got off a plant at the edge of the compost pile

Red and Yellow coleus cuttings from abandoned plants around a closed business

From friends, trades & free seeds:

4 NOID Brugmansias

Peacock ginger

Black coleus

NOID Papaya (probably Miradol)

Golden pothos

Various bromeliads

"Dart frog" caladium

Taro

Red stripe leaf amaranth

Blue walking iris

Everglades tomatoes (seed)

Cayenne peppers (seed)

Black cherry tomato (seed)

Seminole pumpkin (seed)

Angled luffa (seed)

Albemoschus manihot (cutting)

Various ornamental and veggie seeds not yet planted

Red Thai crown of thorns

Yellow dwarf poinciana (seeds brought with me)

Dragon fruit (store-bought plant seeds)

Talinum fruticosum - Ceylon spinach

Datura inoxia (seeds brought with me)

Datura "Double Purple" (seeds brought with me)

That's 75 kinds of plants I didn't have when I got here, and since some are multiples, it's probably more than 100 plants total. Some are just babies, and some were obtained by what some would consider "dubious means," but I don't ever take the whole plant, just offsets, seeds or starts, and I don't feel bad about rescuing plants from parking lots and around buildings that are going to die anyway.

Now if I can just keep the whiteflies and hornworms from killing everything, I'll be happy.